Lord & Taylor is changing things up, both with a new president and an unprecendented partnership with a mass-market retailer.

Vanessa LeFebvre, formerly of Stitch Fix…and Lord & Taylor…returns to her roots as President of Lord & Taylor, effective May 22nd. She replaces Liz Rodbell, who stepped down last month after 30 years with the company. LeFebvre, a former DMM at Lord & Taylor, returns to the department store where she will lead Lord & Taylor’s evolution in “reimagining the regional department store model.”

“Vanessa is a change agent with a track record of conceptualizing and building new lines of business. This, combined with her strong experience leading digitally-focused strategies and understanding of department store retailing, makes her the right person to lead Lord & Taylor into the future,” said Helena Foulkes, CEO, HBC. “I am very pleased to welcome Vanessa back to the Lord & Taylor family where she began her career.”

At online retailer Stitch Fix, LeFebvre set strategy and merchandising direction for women’s, the primary business for the company. She spent the first 10 years of her career as a buyer and DMM at Lord & Taylor, then advanced to senior roles at several retailers including Macy’s, TJX Companies and Daffy’s. At Macy’s, LeFebvre was the principal architect of Macy’s Backstage division, which she built into a multi-concept operation, including store within store concepts.

“This is an exciting time to join Lord & Taylor as we evolve our model and merchandise assortment to best meet customer expectations and shopping preferences,” said LeFebvre. “Beginning my career in fashion and retail at Lord & Taylor, I have always had a passion for the brand. I am incredibly proud to return to my roots and thrilled about the opportunity to lead the Lord & Taylor organization.”

PARTNERING WITH WALMART.COM

Change is already under way at Lord & Taylor, as evidenced by its recent partnership with walmart.com. The Lord & Taylor flagship store on Walmart.com has rolled out, featuring more than 125 brands, including Tommy Bahama, Vince Camuto, Miss Selfridge, La La Anthony, Lucky Brand, H Halston and Effy.

This innovative flagship on Walmart.com is an entirely new model for us and demonstrates the evolution of Lord & Taylor and our commitment to advancing our digital presence,” said RJ Cilley, SVP of Digital, Lord & Taylor. “We are excited for the opportunity to serve exponentially more customers with our premium fashion offerings, including our famous dress selection and many stylish brands.”

Denise Incandela, Head of Fashion, Walmart U.S. eCommerce, sees this partnership as a way to establish the redesigned Walmart.com as a destination for fashion. “The new experience is aligned with how customers shop the category, with editorial elements that inspire customers to browse and buy, and has already generated positive customer response,” said “The next step is the launch of the Lord & Taylor flagship store, which introduces exciting new premium brands to our customers.”